Sack of Gezer

:"For the siege of Gezer by Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III see Siege of Gezer (c.733 BC)"Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Siege of Gezer
partof=
campaign=


caption=
date=10th century BC
place=Gezer, Palestine
casus beli=
territory=
result=Egypt takes Gezer, Egyptian victory
combatant1=Egypt
combatant2=Philistines
commander1=Siamun
commander2=Unknown
strength1=Unknown
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=Many killed

The Sack of Gezer reportedly took place at the beginning of the 10th century BC according to the Holy Bible, when the city was conquered and burned by an Egyptian pharaoh, most likely Siamun, during his military campaign in Palestine. This anonymous Egyptian pharaoh then gave it to King Solomon as the dowry of his daughter. This campaign and capture of the city was mentioned in the Bible.

The Bible states:

Identifying the Pharaoh

The only mention in the Bible of a Pharaoh who might be Siamun is the text from 1 Kings quoted above, and we have no other historical sources that clearly identify what really happened. As shown below, Kenneth Kitchen believes that Siamun conquered Gizer and gave it to Solomon. Others such as Paul S Ash and Mark W. Chavalas disagree, and Chavalas states that "it is impossible to conclude which Egyptian monarch ruled concurrently with David and Solomon". [ cite journal|title=Review of David, Solomon and Egypt: A Reassessment by Paul S. Ash|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|date=Spring, 2001|first=Mark W.|last=Chavalas|coauthors=|volume=120|issue=1|pages=152–152|id= |url=|format=|accessdate=2008-05-29 ] Professor Edward Lipinski argues that Gezer, then unfortified, was destroyed late in the 10th century (and thus not contemporary with Solomon) and that the most likely Pharaoh was Shoshenq I. "The attempt at relating the destruction of Gezer to the hypothetical relationship between Siamun and Solomon cannot be justified factually, since Siamun's death precedes Solomon's accession." [cite book | last = Lipinski | first = Edward | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta) | publisher = Peeters | date = 2006 | location = Leuven, Belgium | pages = 96-97 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-9042917989 ]

Archaeology

One fragmentary but well-known surviving triumphal relief scene from the Temple of Amun at Tanis depicts an Egyptian pharaoh smiting his enemies with a mace. There can be no doubt that the person shown on this relief was Siamun as the eminent British Egyptologist, Kenneth Kitchen, stresses in his book, "On the Reliability of the Old Testament". [K.A. Kitchen, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003, p. 109] Siamun appears here "in typical pose brandishing a mace to strike down prisoners(?) now lost at the right except for two arms and hands, one of which grasps a remarkable double-bladed axe by its socket." [Kitchen, OROT, op. cit., pp. 109 and 526] The writer observes that this double-bladed axe or 'halberd' has a flared crescent-shaped blade which is close in form to the Aegean influenced double axe but is quite distinct from the Palestinian/Canaanite double-headed axe which has a different shape that resembles an X. [Kitchen, OROT, op. cit., pp. 109–10] Thus, Kitchen concludes Siamun's foes were the Philistines who were descendants of the Aegean-based Sea Peoples and that Siamun was commemorating his recent victory over them at Gezer by depicting himself in a formal battle scene relief at the Temple in Tanis. More recently Paul S Ash has put forward a detailed argument that Siamun's relief portrays a fictitious battle. He points out that in Egyptian reliefs Philistines are never shown holding an axe, and that there is no archaeological evidence for Philistines using axes. He also argues that there is nothing in the relief to connect it with Philistia or the Levant. [cite book | last = Ash | first = Paul S | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = David, Solomon and Egypt: A Reassessment (JSOT Supplement) | publisher = Sheffield Academic Press | date = November 1999 | location = | pages = 38-46 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=4V8eB8Ouq8MC&pg=PA52&dq=battle+%22bitter+lakes%22+shoshenq&ei=LRE9SNCUEpHCyQSsj_jzAg&client=firefox-a&sig=ACsUOiDmRtJvX3EiKyI9Q2B_WYw | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-1841270210 ]

The first season of the Gezer excavations concluded successfully and revealed some interesting details. Among other things, is a discovery of thick destruction layer that may be dated to the destruction of Siamun (1 Kings 9:16).

References

ee also

*Gezer
*Pharaoh's daughter (wife of Solomon)